Families of both lose their sole breadwinners. page 1The friends, fathers of two young sons each and sole breadwinners for their families, had spent years playing cricket together every weekend. Over time, that bond turned into an annual ritual of watching an IPL match each season. Hemant Sharma (33) worked as a contractual personal assistant to a customs officer at Udyog Bhavan, while Rohit Kashyap (31) worked at a travel agency and cared for his father, paralyzed three years ago. Friday’s last-minute cricket plan ended with a 10 pm video call from Sharma to his brother-in-law saying “they had a lot of fun”.Childhood To Death, United By Cricket | page 4New Delhi: For Rohit Kashyap and Hemant Sharma, who died on Friday night in an accident while returning after watching an IPL match, cricket was more than just a shared hobby. It signified a friendship that had stayed unbroken since childhood.The friends, fathers of two young sons each and the sole breadwinners of their families, had spent years playing cricket together every weekend before turning their love for the sport into an annual tradition of watching an IPL match together every season.On Friday, the plan had come together at the last minute. Along with two friends from Noida, they booked tickets for the Delhi Capitals versus Kolkata Knight Riders match at Arun Jaitley Stadium. Hours later, while returning home, their motorcycle was allegedly hit by a car from behind in northeast Delhi’s Khajuri Khas.“Bunty (Sharma) video-called me from outside the stadium around 10pm after the match and said they had a lot of fun,” said brother-in-law Ved Prakash, standing outside the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital mortuary on Saturday. “None of us knew it would be the last time we would hear his voice.”Sharma (33), who worked as the personal assistant to a customs officer at Udyog Bhavan on contract, leaves behind his wife Aarti, nine-year-old son Gauransh and seven-month-old Sharvansh, and elderly parents. His brother, Harkesh, said, “He had only recently become a dad for the second time. How can I explain to those young boys that their father is gone?”Nearby, Kashyap’s brother, Dinesh Kumar, stood with tears in his eyes. “Rohit had taken an early off from work just for the match,” he murmured. Kashyap (31) is survived by his wife Preeti, sons Naksh (5) and Daksh (2), and 77-year-old father Shiv Prakash.The family had recently enrolled Daksh in school and was preparing to celebrate his third birthday on May 13 with a dinner outing. “They had invited all the relatives and were excitedly discussing restaurant options,” recalled younger brother Guddu. “Everything was planned.”Kashyap, who worked at a travel agency, used to spend much of his time caring for his father, who had suffer-ed a paralytic seizure three years ago and only recently began recovering.Though both friends had spent their entire lives in the narrow lanes of Karawal Nagar, their roots lay in Uttar Pradesh. While Kashyap’s family is from Etawah, Sharma’s family came from Bulandshahr.Family members said the two were inseparable and rarely went anywhere without each other. From their shared love for cricket and loyalty to their home team to the responsibilities of fatherhood, relatives said the two had stood by each other through every phase of life, a bond that remained unbroken even in death.
